I was initially going to write about an extended family situation–and the distress it has caused our immediate family–by contrasting it with the generous offer of an old friend. But the distaste of the former has in no way been diminished by the magnanimity of the latter, so I decided to let it go. I […]
This issue completes a first full calendar year back from the purgatorial wasteland to which all failed newspapers are relegated. Such papers may be no more, but they linger in archives everywhere from public libraries to private homes. The Valley Voice remained in the collective memory, seemingly, just long enough to be eagerly anticipated upon […]
Today’s frequent–if sardonic–observation that technology, rather than having made life more convenient, has instead spun us all off multi-tasking in too many directions, distracted by and over-dependent on our devices, is only more true as time marches forward. Yes–that was a 40-word sentence: the cell phone rang, and I lost my train of thought. It […]
During our last layout session, flummoxed by too many bunny images with which to festoon the masthead in honor of Easter, I decided–in my indecision–to go with something completely different: An Easter Island moai. This set our associate editor to chuckling. “What’ll you put on the May first issue,” he asked– “a hammer and sickle?” […]
The two inescapable things in life, it is frequently asserted, are death and taxes. Sometimes I’m uncertain as to which I’d prefer, given a choice, and sometimes they seem like the same thing. But they’re not. And the surest way to discern between the two is that, if you have done well enough in life, […]
Pleased as I’ve been recently by all the attention afforded the Boudreaux gun raffle flap, still, I’m galled that everyone has missed the point. Poor Boudreaux has taken it in the shorts of late, and the overwhelming sentiment in print has been that the raffle itself was a shady operation. Maybe–but let’s give him a […]
Some news stories are said to have traction with the public. These are said to have “legs.” This story has arms. Firearms, to be clear; eleven of them, including five handguns. Fewer than would be required to, say, annex the Crimea–but still eleven more guns than were on the street before supporters of acting sheriff […]
For countless thousands of years, humankind has run, jumped, swam and thrown things all in an effort either to procure food or else keep from becoming it. Walking upright, in fact–and all the activity that allows–is a signature characteristic of our species. I would even argue that we appreciate athletic excellence not merely for competition’s […]
On the first day of high school physics, our teacher chalked T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L. onto the blackboard. He then turned to us, pointed at what was obviously an acronym, and asked if anyone knew what the letters stood for. We were all clearly stumped, so he offered a hint. “It’s the first rule of physics.” When this […]
In the circular firing squad that is today’s Republican Party, Speaker of the House John Boehner has finally unveiled his outrage at the myopic short-term tactics of fractious far-right interest groups — tactics that have not furthered the party, but ironically ensured that, in some races at least, a republican cannot even be elected. Here’s […]